The Oregon Ducks crashed and burned last season, completing a severe downward turn after a 2014 season in which the program reached the national championship game of college football. The Ducks get a complete reset under a new coaching staff, which marks a big change for Oregon in a larger sense. The Ducks had not fired a head coach in 40 years before firing Mark Helfrich last year. Many of the Oregon assistants under Helfrich had been on the job for more than 15 years. The coaching staff is truly different after being relatively unchanged for a long time. The Ducks hope this season can quickly reorient the program and point it in the right direction for 2018.
How Did They End 2016
The Ducks upset Utah on the road as their defense played surprisingly well, but the sense of optimism created by that game did not last very long. Oregon then went to Corvallis to play rival Oregon State, a team the Ducks had mastered for many years under previous coaches. This time, however, the Beavers had the far better and more potent offense. The Ducks were paralyzed and lacked answers. Oregon fell to OSU, and that was the moment when it became a certainty that Helfrich would be fired, marking the end of a few different eras for Duck football.
Offseason Changes
Helfrich, who had been an assistant to Chip Kelly, who had been an assistant to Mark Bellotti, who had been an assistant to Rich Brooks, was fired. The Helfrich-Kelly-Bellotti-Brooks chain of Oregon head coaches stretched back to the 1970s. The Ducks had as orderly and stable a coaching situation as any program in college football until this past season convinced the athletic department to aim for a reboot. Willie Taggart came from South Florida to become the new head coach in Eugene. He was an assistant under Jim Harbaugh at Stanford, so he is no stranger to the Pac-12 and specifically the Pac-12 North.
Jim Leavitt came from Colorado to become defensive coordinator for Taggart, a big move which should get the Oregon defense turned around (how quickly is the question). Mario Cristobal was plucked from Alabama and Nick Saban’s staff to be co-offensive coordinator for the running game. Marcus Arroyo will be the co-coordinator for the passing game after the previous choice for that position, David Reaves, was arrested for DUI and had to resign that post
Team X-Factor
Senior cornerback Arrion Springs needs to take the next step as both a leader and a performer. He is experienced, but he needs to show that experience means something. Being a returning player from a terrible defense often means a player isn’t very good. Springs needs to show that his experience will translate into production for this defense.
What To Expect From The Ducks This Year
Taggart, Leavitt and Cristobal are all very good coaches. It is hard to think this team won’t improve by at least two or three games. The defense needs a complete overhaul, so the whole team won’t come together all at once, but this team should be a lot better than it was.
Record Last 5 Seasons
2016: 4-8
2015: 9-4
2014: 13-2
2013: 11-2
2012: 12-1
Schedule & Outlook
The Ducks start to the season is fairly easy. For the old Ducks, they wouldn’t have had a problem being 6-0 after six weeks. For this year’s team, going .500 or better would be a good start.
They’ll start with Southern Utah, which should be a win, and then host an improving Nebraska team. They’ll follow that up with back-to-back road trips to Wyoming and Arizona State. Chip Kelly’s Ducks wouldn’t have had a problem with any of those games but this year’s version will be hard-pressed with Nebraska and a road trip to Arizona State. After that, they’ll host Cal and Washington State. Road trips to Washington and Stanford won’t be easy and even a road game at UCLA is no gimme.
The Ducks should jump from 4-8 to 7-5 and set the table for a 2018 season in which they can contend for the Pac-12 title.
Regular Season Win Total Prediction: Under 8
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